Denon DL-103 series is a great opportunity for many small companies and DIYers to capitalize on so called "upgrade" of the most popular product. Some Denon owners simply go crazy with this "upgrade" and ready to spend $700+ to change their Denon 103 a bit. New cantilevers, new stylus tip, new cartridge body and so on.
Let me ask you why do you need Denon if everything made by Denon must be replaced, refurbished by some DIYer on the bench in garage?
Actually any cartridge can be retipped and recantilevered. Some strange dudes offering DIY wood body even for Grace cartridges.
$1k is enough to buy absolutely amazing MM or MC cartridges with the most advanced stylus/cantilever combo factory made by the best japanese cartridge manufacturers. A cartridge with much better specs, much better sound, much longer life etc. Some of them are low compliance if you need something like denon to match some heavy tonearms.
Personally i would never buy any refurbished or retipped cartridge.
The best original cartridge is what i am looking for.
Those tricks with cheap Denon 103 looks like someone trying to rebuild manually Ford Focus to a Porsche Carrera for the cost of Carrera.
Let me ask you why do you need Denon if everything made by Denon must be replaced, refurbished by some DIYer on the bench in garage?
Actually any cartridge can be retipped and recantilevered. Some strange dudes offering DIY wood body even for Grace cartridges.
$1k is enough to buy absolutely amazing MM or MC cartridges with the most advanced stylus/cantilever combo factory made by the best japanese cartridge manufacturers. A cartridge with much better specs, much better sound, much longer life etc. Some of them are low compliance if you need something like denon to match some heavy tonearms.
Personally i would never buy any refurbished or retipped cartridge.
The best original cartridge is what i am looking for.
Those tricks with cheap Denon 103 looks like someone trying to rebuild manually Ford Focus to a Porsche Carrera for the cost of Carrera.